New ISO RFID standard will help trace products in the supply chain

Traceability is defined as the tracking and tracing of product and information related to it at each stage of a chain of production, processing, distribution, and selling. The development of radio frequency identification (RFID), including peripheral devices and their applications, is indispensable for increasing the safety and reliability of products for consumers.

ISO 17367:2009, Supply chain applications of RFID – Product tagging, defines the basic features of RFID for use in the supply chain when applied to product tagging. In particular it makes recommendations for:

Encoded identification of the product

Additional information about the product for inclusion on the RFID tag

Semantics and data syntax

The data protocol to be used to interface with business applications and the RFID system

The air interface standards between the RFID interrogator and RFID tag.

ISO 17367:2009 is applicable to a wide range of industries and it has been elaborated in order to ensure compatibility at the physical, command and data levels with four other International Standards under the general title: Supply chain applications ofRFID. International Standards within this suite are interoperable and non-interfering:

These International Standards define the technical aspects and data hierarchy of information required in each layer of the supply chain. ISO technical committee ISO/TC 122/WG 10, Packaging, in collaboration with ISO/TC 104, Freight containers developedthisseries of standards.

TC 122/WG 10 has undertaken a revision of this suite of standards to provide better clarity to the encoded methods to be utilized and support for sensor technology.

ISO 17367, Supply chain applications of RFID – Product tagging, is available from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details). It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat, price 142 Swiss francs, through the ISO Store or by contacting the Marketing, Communication & Information department (see right-hand column).